The Trip
by yuffiehighwind
Summary: Lyekka sends a drugged plant to dispatch the Lexx crew and give them deadly hallucinations. There are two possible ways this night could end, and neither Stan nor Xev are expecting the latter. Takes place during S4 Ep22 "Trip." Xev/Stan.
1. What Really Happened

_**Story Summary: **__Lyekka sends a drugged plant to dispatch the Lexx crew and give them deadly hallucinations. There are two possible ways this night could end, and neither Stan nor Xev are expecting the latter. Takes place during S4 Ep22 "Trip."_

_**Story Notes: **__Originally composed September 2010, __but the Internet can always use more Lexx 'fics. _Cross-posted to Archive of Our Own. Xev/Stan, Xev/Kai. The second chapter is Sexually Explicit. 

**_Chapter Notes: _**_Here, the scene plays out like in the series. Most of the dialogue here is from the actual episode. In the second chapter, "What Didn't Happen (and Certainly Never Would)," Stan's night goes very, very differently..._

* * *

**The Trip**

**Chapter One: ****What Really Happened**

Thinking themselves finally free from the shackles of Prince and Earth, the crew of the Lexx lay on Xev's bed, staring at the ceiling and watching it pulse with the massive insect's heartbeat.

Ten minutes earlier, Xev had stumbled over her feet as though drunk, Stan on one arm, beckoning Kai down the hallway with languorous waves of her hand.

Even when the girl tried to deny her infatuation with the undead assassin, her affections were obvious. If Kai could love her, or make love to her, he decided long ago that he would, but with such a vast difference between their bodies and minds, it wasn't possible. She had learned that back on Planet Fire well enough. And if he could feel frustration at her constant advances, he would, not because they were annoying, but because every rejection broke her heart.

Even without the broken, battered body, Kai couldn't feel love like Xev. He couldn't even love like Stan, who deeply cared about them, though he rarely showed it and had only admitted it out loud this very night. As for 790, Kai wouldn't call the robot's obsessions "love" anymore. He kept an eye on 790, who became more unstable with each passing day, but now he put the thought aside. Xev and Stan's drunken behavior was concern enough.

The two were quietly giggling over the way the violet drape above them swayed with a draft in the room. Lexx's lungs provided his boarders air, however he processed oxygen. Kai had memories from scientists in the Divine Order and could explain if they asked. The two mortals usually took their air supply for granted, but tonight they were fascinated, pointing at the ceiling. Xev reached a hand back to touch Kai's black hair, but held Stan's with the other.

"Oh, wow."

"I know."

"It's like…Like Lexx is breathing _for_ us."

"I love Lexx," Stan said. The insect usually replied to statements like this, but the bug's health had degraded, and perhaps he couldn't hear anymore, unless the Key was activated. Kai didn't know, but it was another concern.

"I love Lexx, too," Xev declared.

"We love you, Lexx," they said, almost in unison. Kai couldn't see the two of them, but felt movement on the bed. Stan had shifted his weight closer to Xev.

"You ever wonder, uh, you ever wonder if Lexx loves us too?"

Xev gave this some thought and replied, "He loves _you._ You're his Captain."

"I am, aren't I?" he said, sounding awed and humbled. He usually pretended his possession of the Key made him important, somehow trumping any other title in the universe, but he had never intended to pilot a living weapon. It was a privilege.

"You've been Captain, too," he pointed out. Xev shook her head, which was unusual, because she always insisted she was the more responsible one.

"No, no, no. You're the Captain."

"Ah, well, if you say so." From the corner of her eye, she could tell his usual smugness had crept back onto his features, so she stopped playing with Kai's hair to slap Stan's arm.

Earlier, in the cryostasis chamber, the strange plant Lyekka gave them had emitted an ethereal blue light when Kai sang a song to it. It was a song from their experience in the otherworldly theater back in the Light Zone during their battle with Mantrid, that had inspired the Lexx crew to keep fighting.

Aware of the song's meaning, or forgetting its significance and merely high from eating the foreign plant's berries, Stan had confessed how much he cared about the two of them. Even Kai thought it best to admit he thought the three of them were strongly bonded.

So the assassin wasn't surprised by Xev's next statement.

"I was thinking that maybe the time has come for us to develop a... _special relationship." _

The three now lay in a triangle, their heads close together, but their bodies apart, gazing above and wondering.

Xev folded her arms across her chest and made her proposal tentatively, her high from the berries warming her body and clouding her mind in a pleasant, dreamlike way.

Less than an hour earlier, she had danced, badly, and sang about being a Cluster Lizard. She leaned on Stan, laughing with him over nothing, as Kai looked on like a stern chaperone. But as their laughter faded, the mood shifted. Languid, she inhaled the comforting, lived-in smell of her room on the Lexx. The ship's organic walls had a safe, shelter-like quality. In the silence, she and Stan's soft breathing seemed louder, the Lexx's heartbeat faint in the background. Senses heightened, the girl felt any sensation against her bare skin more intensely. She was not quite aroused but certainly open to the idea.

The affection she felt for her friends filled her with a warm, fluttery feeling. A subtle arousal, a slight heat creeping down her body. Why not experiment a little, while she craved touch?

If she could see Stan's face, though, she'd notice him smirk, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Boy, hey, I'm all for that. When do we start?"

Xev grinned slightly. He wasn't looking at her either, but she raised her head to glance at him. "Maybe sooner than you think," she replied, a teasing promise in her tone.

Meanwhile, Kai's thoughts flit over Xev. Sometimes he wished he were still mortal and could feel what she felt. Prince had hinted at having the ability to transform him. He was an untrustworthy creature, but provided a small glimmer of hope. Perhaps a real one, after everything that had happened.

"If Prince should ever fulfill his promise to make me once again truly alive, I can envision that the thought of making love with you Xev might actually become appealing."

Such a statement sounded sarcastic to an average person's ears, but after years living with the undead warrior, Xev understood how meaningful it really was.

"Wow, you _are_ very different tonight."

Smiling widely, Xev sat up and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. She considered lingering, but didn't push her luck. Feeling slightly dizzy, she lay back down.

Her high suddenly took a downward spiral, into a disorienting little tailspin that made her shut her eyes tight. The feeling passed, but she felt like she could sleep for a week. She sunk into the sheets, their silky touch enveloping her, more comfortable in this lumpy bed than she'd ever been. But in order to get some shuteye, she had to shoo away her two best friends.

"I'm suddenly really tired."

"Yeah, me too," Stan added, faking a yawn. He was wired, and certainly not sleepy. But this was the perfect excuse to get Kai, as much as he liked the guy, to go away and leave him alone with Xev. In her bed. Which had never happened before, _ever._

The plant seemed to have posed no danger, after all. Everyone safe for the time being, Kai decided to take leave of his human companions.

"As the next life-bearing planet will not be reached for some time, I will return to cryostasis."

"Goodnight, Kai," Xev said.

"Goodnight," Stan cheerfully added.

"Night, Stanley."

Eyes shut, she hoped Stan would take the hint, but the older man never let an opportunity to bed his crewmate pass. It was unethical with her so out of it, but they'd _both_ eaten the berries, he reasoned. How wrong could it be?

He kneeled next to her and leaned over. He tried to make his tone light, hiding his ulterior motive, but if Xev were sober, she'd have seen his intentions from a mile away. He put on the sincerest expression possible as he protested.

"Oh, Xev, you know I'd like to say goodnight to you too, but I...but I really want to stay."

That morning the girl would have groaned at the obvious attempt and kicked him out, but tonight Xev was fonder of him, and delivered her protestation with nothing harsher than the truth.

"Aw, Stan, it's been such a perfect day."

In a last ditch gambit, he tried agreeing with her. He _did_ agree with her. Palling around with her, singing and dancing, giggling over air currents and sharing their feelings after all the death, running, and peril back on Earth _did_ make it a great day. But being a man, being Stan, being so desperate to touch Xev more than by accident, more than by rubbing up against her as she slung an arm around him - friendly, frightened or threatening, depending on her mood - he _had_ to make a pass. It was irresistible, after she'd suggested changing their relationship. His come-on was going to sound as corny as his real feelings had earlier, but there it was.

"Exactly, exactly, exactly!" he said emphatically. He tried lowering his voice seductively, but just sounded dorky. "And you and me, and the bed makes three, would be the perfect end to it."

At her dubious look he continued, "We've opened up so much to each other. So let's just _stay_ open. Even if it's just for tonight."

_Just for tonight,_ Xev thought. It was tempting in her current state. Her slight arousal grew stronger, butterflies flapping in her stomach as she looked up at him, one of the men she loved, for what it was worth.

"Yes, Stan," she said, to his great relief. "Please make love to me now." She grasped his shoulder, shutting her eyes and pulling him close. She'd let him take her, just once, just tonight, expressing whatever depth of feeling lurked there within their tentative friendship. "Kiss me," she said simply, with no sarcasm, only desire.

He leaned down to meet her parted lips, but lurched back, feeling like he had to vomit and relieve himself all at once. He groaned. Well, this dashed _that_ plan.

Xev pulled back, but kept her hand on his shoulder. She squeezed it, startled, concerned, and at the back of her mind, insulted.

"Are you okay, Stan?"

He clutched at his stomach.

"Oh my guts!"

"Are you okay?"

"Oh, it's just..." No, he had no assurances for her, and didn't want to stay now. "This is bad, _bad."_

He looked at her, suddenly paranoid.

"Did you do something to me?" he accused.

She half-smiled. He had to be joking. _"What?"_ she asked, sitting up and away from him. Her mind felt fuzzy, like cotton.

"No, what are you talking about?"

He clutched his stomach again, and said, very fast, shaking the thought away, "Oh, nothing, nothing, nothing."

He let out another agonized groan as Xev examined him curiously. He shuffled off the bed, but she stopped him, grasping his upper arm to hold his hunched form upright, her face a picture of worry.

"I better lay down in my own bed," he said, desperate to get to the bathroom. "It was a great day, Xev. 'Night." He hurried out.

Xev lay on her stomach, crossing her legs at the ankle. She was confused, hurt, concerned, and disappointed.

"'Night," she called after him.

She sighed.

_Goddamit._


	2. What Didn't Happen (and Never Would)

_**Chapter Notes: **__...But what if none of the fighting happened, and the aliens' plan backfired? What if the berries only got them really, really high?_

* * *

**Chapter Two: What Didn't Happen (and Certainly Never Would)**

_The plant seemed to have posed no danger, after all. Everyone safe for the time being, Kai decided to take leave of his human companions._

_"As the next life-bearing planet will not be reached for some time, I will return to cryostasis."_

_"Goodnight, Kai," Xev said._

_"Goodnight," Stan cheerfully added._

_"Night, Stanley."_

_Eyes shut, she hoped Stan would take the hint, but the older man never let an opportunity to bed his crewmate pass. It was unethical with her so out of it, but they'd __**both**__ eaten the berries, he reasoned. How wrong could it be?_

_He kneeled next to her and leaned over. He tried to make his tone light, hiding his ulterior motive, but if Xev were sober, she'd have seen his intentions from a mile away. He put on the sincerest expression possible as he protested._

_"Oh, Xev, you know I'd like to say goodnight to you too, but I...but I really want to stay."_

_That morning the girl would have groaned at the obvious attempt and kicked him out, but tonight Xev was fonder of him, and delivered her protestation with nothing harsher than the truth. _

_"Aw, Stan, it's been such a perfect day."_

_In a last ditch gambit, he tried agreeing with her. He __**did **__agree with her. Palling around with her, singing and dancing, giggling over air currents and sharing their feelings after all the death, running, and peril back on Earth __**did **__make it a great day. But being a man, being Stan, being so desperate to touch Xev more than by accident, more than by rubbing up against her as she slung an arm around him - friendly, frightened or threatening, depending on her mood - he __**had **__to make a pass. It was irresistible, after she'd suggested changing their relationship. His come-on was going to sound as corny as his real feelings had earlier, but there it was. _

_"Exactly, exactly, exactly!" he said emphatically. He tried lowering his voice seductively, but just sounded dorky. "And you and me, and the bed makes three, would be the perfect end to it." _

_At her dubious look he continued, "We've opened up so much to each other. So let's just __**stay **__open. Even if it's just for tonight."_

_**Just for tonight**__, Xev thought. It was tempting in her current state. Her slight arousal grew stronger, butterflies flapping in her stomach as she looked up at him, one of the men she loved, for what it was worth._

* * *

She bit her lip uncertainly, and Stan knew from enough refusals to back off. She was part Cluster Lizard and could kick his ass into the next week, if so inclined.

He leaned down anyway. Words obviously failing, he moved to kiss her, but he missed, lips meeting air, as she turned to lay on her stomach, her head on her arms.

Stan tentatively laid a palm on her upper back. Despite all his encounters, no one had ever told him how to actually seduce a woman. Half the time they were seducing _him,_ usually to get the Key.

Who ever gave the Lexx's Key _that_ loophole _had_ to have been perverted. Stan wondered what would happen if they ever _did_ have sex. Would the Key pass back and forth between them? Could she even pass it back to him, if he couldn't make her come? Would she even want to, after one time?

He massaged her shoulders, and she let him, sinking into the bed. Hadn't she gotten a massage once, back on Nook? That virginity-losing mission ended with an exploding planet. She didn't think of how many people got killed as they traveled - by accident, by circumstance, on purpose. She didn't mourn most of her lovers, either. They had been caricatures of men.

Xev didn't linger on the morbid memory, just smiled and rode the high. Stan's hands were warm on her shoulder blades, and his hot breath hit the back of her neck as he pretended he wasn't smelling her hair. She hadn't been attracted to him in the past, but she _had_ admitted that could change sooner than he thought, and she had meant it. _Oh,_ had she meant it. The berries probably meant it.

Turning over onto her back couldn't end _too_ badly. It would feel so good, being touched again. Waiting for Kai's transformation wasn't soon enough.

Stan couldn't help but notice how tense she was. He didn't know much about anatomy, but enough to know that muscles shouldn't be so stiff. Xev relaxed her body and let him rub however hard he wanted, but this being a sloppy attempt at seduction, he didn't knead too hard. To his disappointment, she didn't groan much at his touch, but that could be the Cluster Lizard in her. They were strong and agile, with tough scales, and the girl could miraculously shape-shift between forms. Maybe knotted shoulders was a Lizard trait. In truth, Xev had just been holding in all her anxiety from years on the run.

At least she didn't smell like a Lizard. Her long, blonde hair was soft and had a pleasant scent all its own.

When the girl turned over on her back, her movement pushed Stan back. Startled, he withdrew his hands. Her protest was coming any second. _"Get your hands off me." "Go to bed, Stanley." "Please leave, Stan, I'm tired." _

It never came. Instead, she lay with her arms above her head, legs spread just a bit, blonde hair a halo. Her lips parted slightly, and her tongue flicked out to lick them. It was a very "open" position, and despite his desire, he was taken aback at actually getting a positive response. She smiled with a hint of desire and lidded eyes. Stan's head swam. Was this really happening?

She shifted her hips, curiosity nagging. She wanted his hand between her legs, just for a second, as a test. They could always stop. Yes, that was a possibility. She could stop him if it didn't feel good.

The temptation to climb on top of her was powerful, but Stan gave it another few seconds, then a minute. Maybe he'd give it a couple of minutes.

Nah, a minute was enough.

He lay down beside her, clumsily pulling her towards him so they were both on their sides facing each other. He kissed her lightly, and Xev responded by rubbing her hand up and down his red-sleeved arm before wrapping her own around his neck, pulling him into a deeper kiss. They gripped each other tight, kissing sloppily and pushing their bodies together, each trying to gain the upper hand. His hat fell off; her hair got in their faces. They pulled away to take quick breaths before diving back in. Xev bit his lower lip, his earlobe, his neck, his gasps making her wet.

The pain must have been too much, because Stan pushed her away. She shot him a puzzled look through her messy hair, but his intent became clear when he pulled her on top of him.

Xev had always been the aggressor in bed. She was a Lizard, for crying out loud, and a Love Slave, with an intense, accelerated libido. She had been Captain of the Lexx and Stan's most strident critic. If he wanted to make her come, and he did, she _had_ to be on top.

She straddled him, feeling his arousal through his jumpsuit. She hitched her short skirt up to press against him. Stan's breath caught when she rolled her hips. The girl was perfect, just like he had wanted, just as he had always dreamed. (Stan put one violent, male Xev and one sexy, shape-shifted Prince out of his mind.) She had her hands on his chest, but as he reached for her breasts, she stopped him, gripping his wrists. He was sure she'd move them above his head and hold him down, which brought back all kinds of unpleasant memories, but she merely guided them to her waist, her palms covering his hands. He spread his fingers and dug in a bit, savoring the feeling of her heated skin.

"Just..." she started to say, then gasped as she rubbed her clit against him.

"Just leave your hands here," she said. That worked best, feeling him holding her, his touch a firm presence as she did all the work. Maybe this _would_ feel good.

Stan tried to sit up, to pull her down into another kiss.

"Uh-uh-uh," she said, pushing him down into the bed.

"I just want to..."

Xev shook her head. "_You_ put me on top, so _you_ are just along for the ride."

"Xev, please..."

The girl cut him off again, not by speaking, but by unzipping his red jumpsuit. (Where was his hat? He felt naked already. But Xev found she liked the look of his tousled brown hair, jutted out at all angles.) She shuffled back, perching on his legs, as she continued disrobing him. He still wore that gray undershirt and the same white boxers. His erection was even more exposed, now, so she settled down on top of him, smirking, and resumed grinding against him through the thin fabric.

"Oh, Xev," Stan moaned, disbelieving any of this could possibly be happening. His face contorted in lust as he gazed up at her, and she wisely chose to shut her eyes to better concentrate. If she looked down she would be turned off by his intense expression, his eyes hungrily watching her - the movement of her hips under her skirt, her breasts in that tight-fitting top shifting with her body's movement. And then he focused on her face, her parted lips, her pleasure. He didn't care that her eyes were shut tight or if she was imagining someone else underneath her. This was Xev. He craved her. He always had.

Suddenly Xev stopped moving and glanced down at her friend. Discomfited by his leer, she had no time to voice her misgivings before he took this opportunity to pull her down into another kiss.

Xev resisted, but didn't use her full strength. The surprise confidence turned her on. Her body lay fully on top of his and when she turned her head to take a breath, he dove at her neck. _That_ was familiar, but instead of delivering sloppy, wet kisses, he took a move from Xev's playbook and bit her.

"Ah!" she said, the pain a new feeling. "Ah, ah..."

This new Stan was certainly not the real Stan, because he stopped, his lust tinged with concern.

"Did I hurt you?"

"No," she said, smiling a little. She kissed him again, softer this time. When their lips separated, he moved to bite her neck again, then paused, hesitant.

"Do you want me to...?"

"Yes, yes," she said impatiently.

Xev kept letting out breathy gasps. She responded to the pain as though he were pleasuring her (which he would reluctantly admit he didn't even know how to do right). She jerked involuntarily against his cock, which excited him, but then she shifted from human sounds to very Lizard-y noises.

"Rrrrrrrr," she keened. It was an unnerving, creepy sound, so he placed a hand on her cheek and kissed her lips to stop it.

The girl sat up, her feverish heat leaving him, to his disappointment. She scooted back to perch on his legs again. What was she up to?

_Oh._

Xev softly rubbed his legs, then pulled his boxers down to expose his cock. He blushed, watching as she seemed to decide whether or not this experiment warranted further testing.

It did, because she gripped his cock and began to stroke. He lay back and looked up at the ceiling, twisting the bedsheets in his fingers as the sensation washed over him.

"Faster," he said. "Please, harder."

She jerked him roughly, and considered making him come right then, just to watch, just to shut him up, but her body ached for more contact. Curiosity still nagged at her and dammit, she was horny.

"Stan," she said, so he'd look up at her. _"Stan."_ He didn't, so she stopped stroking.

He propped himself up on his elbows, looking desperate and not the least bit sexy.

"What now, Xev? That felt so, _so good."_

He couldn't read her expression. She withdrew her hand, raising it to her lips. She looked conflicted, like she was realizing this wasn't going well. He couldn't do much about his erection, but he tried to put on a neutral expression. Really, he tried.

But instead of covering her face with her hands and turning away, she licked her fingers. Stan let out a low moan at just the look in her eye, at the curious, open lust that matched his own. She shifted to kneel beside him, trying to pull off her panties without removing her skirt, but the high still affected her coordination and she fell over. The girl let out a soft giggle.

Stan grinned and shook his head as she pushed her panties down her legs, off her feet, and flicked them across the bed. She tried to get up on her knees again, so he reached over to help her, gripping her arm to pull her to him.

"Xev, you're so..."

Before he could make some kind of joke at her expense, he felt her sink down onto his cock. She gasped and her self-satisfied smirk briefly became a pained grimace. Her eyebrows raised in surprise at her body's reaction. Stan looked a bit shocked himself, the pleasure overwhelming him.

"Ohhh."

"Stan, I...uh..."

"Oh, are...are you okay?"

_That_ was unexpected, she thought. Xev tried to relax. Maybe it would help if she started rocking her hips.

The sounds she made surprised her. She hadn't known it would feel like this with Stan. It wasn't how she imagined making love to Kai would be like, passionate and deeply emotional. It certainly wasn't like fucking the boys on Nook, everyone's youthful enthusiasm infectious, full of excitement and joy with discovery. It was…different.

Xev rose up, sank back down again. Someone from Earth would say having sex was like riding a bike. You never forgot.

After a few thrusts, the discomfort faded. Stan watched a thoughtful look replace her frown.

"Xev? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm…I'll be fine."

She sank down again, and they locked eyes as she did, before looking away and blushing. Xev guided his palms back to her waist as she went for another slow pass. Leaning back a bit, she tried a new angle and sped up her riding pace. Much better.

And there was another thing she wanted to try.

"Alright," she started to say, moaning involuntarily. "I'm going to…to…"

"Are you gonna come?"

Xev shot him a derisive look. _You idiot._ She had given him that look many times, but never with him inside her. It was a strange mix of old and new.

"Stay still. Don't move."

Not wanting to come too soon, Stan obliged. Xev adjusted her rhythm, speeding back up.

"Now thrust into me."

"No problem," he replied. _This was more like it._

The girl frowned at him.

"No, thrust _with_ me."

"Oh. _Oh._ Okay."

After a clumsy start, the two moved in tandem so that he hit her G-spot. She didn't cry out like Stan thought she might - imagined, hoped or wished she would - she just let out hiccupy gasps, which morphed into those eerie Lizard noises and back to the breathy sounds of a young woman.

"Oh please, please, please," she begged under her breath. It was such a rare opportunity seeing Xev this way. Because of _him,_ no less. Although she held her Lizard strength back, his pelvis still felt sore, but her pussy more than made up for it. The feel of her around him felt natural, comfortable. He paused his thrusts to try and get a hold of his approaching orgasm, tried to indicate to her to stop, but she kept riding him.

"Xev, I'm gonna come," he warned her. She growled at him, and reached underneath her skirt to rub her clit hard and fast. Her sharp fingernails dug into his abdomen, but she didn't care. She didn't have much time.

Then his hands, that she'd placed so carefully on her hips, wandered around to her lower back, to her skirt's waistband and down over her buttocks. And to her surprise, it was these gently ghosting fingers that sent her over the edge.

She shuddered as she climaxed, no longer snarling like a Cluster Lizard. Just a low moan and soft whimpering, her vulnerability briefly showing as she let her inhibitions go.

She sighed and her body relaxed, though if he paid attention, he could still feel her pussy contract around him. But Stan was lost in his own orgasm, shutting his eyes tight as he came into her.

"Oh, Xev, that was..."

He paused, squinting in the half-light. The Key to the Lexx had left his hand and flowed into hers. The two had been so focused they hadn't noticed the orange mist drift between their bodies.

Xev raised her glowing hand and peered at it, the significance suddenly hitting her. She hadn't meant to take the Key from Stan. He had only just gotten it back.

Her arousal faded, but she still felt high from the berries. Vision blurry, she knew the handsome face looking up at her adoringly wasn't, in reality, nearly so handsome.

She extricated herself from the older man and lay down beside him. Her pussy felt uncomfortably sticky and wet, and her hand felt hot. The orange glow hadn't faded yet and she couldn't stop staring.

The bed shifted as Stan pulled his boxers back on.

"Xev, that was so incredible. That was so amazing."

She looked guilty, almost, so he added, "And you're right, it was special, and open, and we shared so much."

He only partly meant that bit. Ninety-nine percent of him had just wanted to get laid, and one percent was thrilled it was with the woman he did, in fact, love.

She pulled the sheet over herself and shot him a brief smile, only somewhat grateful she actually climaxed. What did _that_ mean? Had she been missing out on something, or was she really so affected by that berry? Was he now trying to placate her with flattery, or did he actually care about her?

Regardless, she was the Captain of the Lexx, now, and she was in charge.

"I'm so tired, Stanley," she said, exhausted. Stan tried to find another sheet to drape around himself, to stay the night with her, but she had taken the only one.

"You should go to bed," she said, rolling over.

_Captain for two minutes and already giving orders_, he thought. But he _was_ spent. The sex had taken all his energy.

He moved to spoon her, rubbing her shoulder, but she nudged him away.

"I really want to stay," he said for the second time that night. He reached out to grasp her hand that held the Key, its glow almost entirely faded into her skin.

_So tired_, Xev thought. Her thoughts were getting cloudier and cloudier. She was so very sleepy.

His warmth against her back felt comforting, almost. Like it could be made a habit, if only they weren't complete opposites.

She was too tired to argue.

* * *

The next day, Xev awoke alone. She hoped it had all been some bizarre sex dream, only to find a hungover Stan standing in his usual spot on the bridge unable to initiate the controls or communicate with the Lexx.

"Stan?"

"Oh, hey Xev," Stan said. He was jumpy and seemed nervous.

"What's wrong? Why won't the Lexx respond?"

He didn't reply, and she could tell he was hiding something.

"Lexx?" she asked.

"Yes, Captain?" its deep voice replied.

Xev's eyes widened and she glared at Stan. He shrugged, a picture of innocence.

"We didn't?"

"We...kinda did."

_"What?"_

Stan stepped down from the controls and backed away. He flicked his hand, gesturing at it. _All yours._ Xev took a step up and held her hand out. The orange controls appeared in the air under her hand and the Lexx responded.

"What is your command, Captain?"

Lexx sounded under the weather, but otherwise responsive to the new bearer of the Key. Xev was no stranger to being Captain, but usually it was because Stan kept getting maimed or _killed._

He gave her a sheepish look. She tried to hold her glare, but the dream hadn't been _too_ bad.

And it hadn't been a dream, had it?

She gave him a small half-smile, but rolled her eyes. He struggled not to look smug.

"Find us a home, Lexx."


End file.
